THE INHERITANCE (Charles Lenox # 10)
Charles Finch
St. Martins Minotaur
November 1, 2016

It's a snowy, cold day in London and Charles Lenox is awaiting a visit from an old school friend, Gerald Leigh. Both men were at Harrow 30 years earlier and Lenox has seen him only a few times since. Leigh was a complete misfit at Harrow, eventually expelled, and Lenox was his only friend. So when Lenox receives a letter from Leigh, asking for his help, Charles is eager to see him. Gerald Leigh, however, never arrives and upon visiting his hotel the next day, Lenox finds that he was absent all night. As a detective and friend, Lenox sets out to find him. When he does, Leigh has a strange story to tell. He was living in France and received a letter informing him of an anonymous bequest of twenty-five thousand pounds sterling; a huge fortune in those days. Far from being a failure as Harrow predicted, Leigh is an internationally known scientist, much in demand among scientific circles. He is required to claim the bequest in person and also has a speaking engagement at the Royal Society. The inheritance echoes an earlier bequest in Leigh's life; an anonymous benefactor paid his school fees. Charles and Gerald tried to solve that mystery as boys but failed. Since arriving in England, Leigh has had two failed attempts on his life. As is ofter the case in the Charles Lenox novels there is a secondary mystery. The Lenox Agency is on retainer with Parliament. When there is a break-in at Parliament, Lenox's associates, Sir John Dallington and Polly Buchanan take the lead, sending Sir John in particular into great danger.

The Charles Lenox Mysteries are perennial favorites and I think that The Inheritance is one of the best. Charles Finch achieves a splendid balance between plot, characterization, and historical detail. As a history geek, I love the small details that make the era come alive; such as the origin of the phrase, "by hook or by crook", and how fish and chips became so popular in England. As always, I highly recommend the series in general and The Inheritance in particular. 

RATING- 4.5 Stars